Their Stories
by CelestialLoverxxx
Summary: Break-ups, confessions, midnight drives, broken hearts, love-struck, stolen kisses and dark new sides ; Love finds its way around. Short collection of drabbles on both Nalu and Graylu pairings.
1. Chapter 1- Begin Again

**Hey there :) I'm taking a break from my other stories to create a short collection of drabbles on both NatsuxLucy and GrayxLucy in this. Please keep sending me prompts through PMs or reviews to help me keep posting more, because I sure need some :D ****Anyway, hope you guys like it.**

**Love from India- CelestialLoverxxx**

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><p><span><strong>Begin Again<strong>

Light snow fell against the glittering lights of the town of Magnolia and the chilly air carried the sound of violins and the smell of fresh bread that wafted its way through the streets.

A flushed with cold blonde girl, a heavy coat draped around her slim, lithe body, hurried across West Avenue. Lucy Heartfilia's brown doe eyes were cast down at the street and her collars turned up at the cold, but there was a faint excited colour on her cheeks as she turned a corner and looked up at the familiar wooden door.

The lights were on—she could see the faint glow against the drawn curtains, and even as she raised her knuckles to knock, the door swung open. A barefooted Natsu Dragneel stood there.

Lucy smiled a bit, seeing him. "Hey there," she said. "Were you spying on me through the window?"

Expecting a teasing comeback, Lucy's smile faltered when Natsu looked down at his bare feet and said in a hollow tone, "I'll go put some shoes on, Luce."

Lucy shrugged. As he disappeared inside, she bit her lip and looked down. When Natsu asked to her to come over for a while, she had been more than excited. A little too excited.

But no one could really blame her. Natsu hadn't been very comfortable around her for the last few weeks, and she'd noticed how distant he had seemed. She talked to her best friend, Mirajane, but she said it happened to people in relationships sometimes; they just needed some space for a while to work things out and it would be okay.

So Lucy with good grace hadn't bothered Natsu too much and now after three days of not even a text from him, when he called her over, she felt relieved. Now…not so much.

Snapping her out of her reverie, Natsu reappeared; he swung the door shut behind him and came down the steps. "Hey," he said.

Lucy cocked an eyebrow. "'Hey'?" she said finally. "Well okay, hey to you too. Where are we going?"

"Uh…nowhere in particular."

Letting her shoulders fall in a dismissive whatever you say shrug again, Lucy began to walk beside him. He shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked, staring off into the distance. The blonde copied his actions, digging her cold fingers into the warmth of the coat she was wearing—Natsu's coat.

The grey cobblestones of the pavement glistened with the falling snow; twilight was fading into increasing darkness and the streets were bustling with people.

"So…is there anything you wanted to talk to me about?" Lucy asked at last. "I mean…you've been a bit…preoccupied lately…" Great. Just what she wasn't supposed to be doing. Mira would kill her.

Natsu's onyx eyes flitted to her, the jacket, and then back to the road. "Yeah…um…there is something, I guess."

"Yeah?"  
>Natsu stopped walking. "Look, Lucy," he started hesitantly. Lucy had a feeling she knew what was going to happen in a few seconds, but she tried so hard to suppress that feeling, that she almost felt as if her worry was useless. Natsu did love her.<p>

He did, right?

"…I know it's a bad time for you," Natsu continued. Lucy frowned and then realization dawned on her as she remembered. She had recently been fired from work all because of something that went terribly wrong by a small careless mistake; she was a loyal worker, but there had a been a great deal of damage to the business because of it and no personal connections could have stopped her from getting fired. She knew, in the dark corners of her heart, she had deserved it.

"I'll manage that," Lucy said. "Wait…did you find a place open at the café? Will they hire me? Did you talk to—"

"No, Lucy," Natsu cut in. He sounded frustrated. "That's not what I need to talk to you about."

"Then what it is? You can tell me anything you want to, you know."

Natsu bit his lip. "Yes," he said softly. "I do know that."

"Well?" she prompted after a pause.

"Lucy, I don't think we should see each other anymore."

So that's what he meant by 'I know it's a bad time for you'. He wanted to add his little 'bad things' to the list. "What?"

He looked her in the eyes at last, onyx to brown. "I don't think I'm…in love with you anymore," his voice dropped to a guilty whisper. "I…fell in love with someone, Lucy. I'm so sorry…I didn't know how to tell you—"

"Who is it?"

Natsu froze. "What?"

Her throat felt tight and it was difficult for Lucy to repeat properly. "Who is it? The one you fell in love with?"

Looking stunned, Natsu said, "Why do you want to know…?"

Letting out a mirthless, abruptly cut off laugh, Lucy shifted her gaze away from him. "It's Lisanna, isn't it?"

"No."

She stopped short. "Then…?"

"Lucy, please. I didn't mean for it to happen, Lucy, just please. I don't know how, maybe it was because I didn't feel the same way about you anymore or maybe because—" Natsu broke off, looking agonized. "—Maybe," he said quietly. "I never felt that way about you. And I swear I didn't know it until…until I fell in love with her." Looking pained, he said in a choked whisper. "With Mirajane."

Everything—shock, anger, sadness, frustration—drained away into a bottomless pit within Lucy, leaving her hollow. Mira had no idea—she wouldn't blame her best friend, she _knew_ Mira had no idea about this. But Natsu…

As he reached for her, Lucy pulled away. He was in love with her best friend. Not her. Not ever, perhaps.

The hollowness within her remained as she reached up and shrugged his coat off gently, baring her thin dress inside.

She wasn't angry. Not even at Natsu. Just a tiny part of her broke as the reality of what was happening and his words struck her like a tiny spear.

Bundling up the coat, she gave it to a frozen Natsu. He stared at it blankly. "Lucy, I—"

"It's yours," Lucy said numbly. "Keep it."

"Lucy—Lucy wait! Lucy—"

But she was already walking away, fast, her boots making it hard for her to just run away from his street.

She wasn't sure when and how, but her tears had finally broken through her careful barrier and now she couldn't stop them. Twin streams of tears stained her cheeks and she ignored the stares she received from around her.

Lucy wasn't aware of when she reached her house, but she did. As she moved forward, blurred eyes cast down and shoulders hunched, she suddenly collided with someone and staggered back in confusion.

Blinking away the tears, she stared up in bewilderment at Gray Fullbuster. He was standing in front of her house near the familiar lamp-post, staring at her door. His dark blue eyes slid to her and then focused properly on her face.

Shock played across his pale features. "Lucy?!"

Gray. In their group of the Strauss sisters Mirajane and Lisanna, Levy, Natsu and Gajeel, Gray was the quietest and one of the closest to Lucy. He had certain charm to him, Lucy had noticed, and he had generously kept her company whenever Natsu bailed on her. Sometimes, she even felt like she used him, but he was always there anyway, smiling and uncomplaining and she loved him a friend for that. But seeing him there…

Not even knowing why, Lucy suddenly took a step forward and put her arms around the taller boy, burying her tearstained face in his chest. Her fingers fisted into his jacket as she let out an unwanted sob against him, holding him close.

Gray looked at her in surprise and concern for a moment, and then his arms came down around her, holding her there tightly, keeping her close and warm.

"Lucy," he touched her hair hesitantly. "Lucy, what's wrong? Are you hurt?"

Slowly and grudgingly, Lucy pulled away and looked up at him. "Not in a way you'd know."

"Oh, you could try me," Gray muttered, but then he reached forward for her. "Is everything okay? Did someone do something…?"

"Natsu broke up with me," Lucy let the words out, and as she did, she knew that wasn't why she had finally started to cry. She hadn't when she lost her job, hadn't been petty when Natsu stopped talking to her, hadn't even let her tears fall in front of Natsu when he said he was in love with no one but Mira. It seemed as if everything she had held back was just coming out now. And she couldn't understand why she needed Gray for comfort, but she did. Because he was always there.

"Oh." A number of emotions flitted across her friend's face before it melted into concern. "Do you want to me to stay with you?"

Lucy nodded, slowly, feeling guilty for needing him. Why would she need him?

"Damn it Lucy," Gray said, and she looked up in surprise. "Aren't you cold?"

She looked down at her frozen fingers and realized, yes, she was. But instead of saying how embracing him had made her warm, she let him take his jacket off and wrap it swiftly around her shoulders. "Idiot," he chided.

Lucy couldn't bring herself to smile but as she drew in her shoulders, she inhaled in the faint smell of mint and fresh laundry of Gray's coat.

"Let's get inside," Gray offered, and she mutely handed him the keys

Once inside the warm house—Lucy had forgotten to turn off the heater before she left—Lucy caught a glance of herself in the mirror by the key hold; she looked like a mess, she realized. Her hair was mussed from attacking Gray and snowflakes crusted the blonde locks. Her flushed, tear-tracked cheeks and red nose just made everything worse.

She curled up on the sofa Gray dragged her to, and hunching into the jacket tried to stop her tears. But everything seemed to be crumbling around her, and it was only Gray's arms which held her tightly again and shushed her that kept her from falling apart.

"It wasn't—"She tried to speak clearly and without being cut off by sudden sobs. What in the _world_ was happening to her? "Wasn't supposed to work out like this. Not my job and not…"

Gray rested his chin on her hair, closing his eyes. The living room he had pulled her into—which was as familiar to him as his own home, just like the rest of Lucy's ever-since-childhood-together friends—was dim; only the light by the counter was on, which it always was.

"Not Natsu too," Lucy finished. Her fingers wanted to curl into Gray's clothes and hold him there too—he felt like tape to broken shards of a vase to her at that moment—but she stopped. She already was bewildered as to her sudden breakdown, and didn't want to ruin his shirt too.

But then, everyone breaks down sometimes. Everyone needs a release. So she just pressed her damp face against his chest, breathing hard, eyes shut as she inhaled the smell of his cologne and her tears.

Gray ran his fingers softly through her hair, murmuring softly, "It's okay, Lucy. It's okay if—"

"No." Lucy slowly pulled away from him, shivering a bit despite the heater. "No it's not okay. And I'm sorry for dragging you along Gray, I just needed—"

"Needed a friend," Gray finished her sentence simply, his lips quirking up at the corners a little. His eyes were clouded with emotion, but she didn't notice. "And you don't have to apologize. I'm here for you, we all are, you know that Lucy."

Lucy nodded a bit. She had caught the vainly suppressed hitch his voice went into when he said _we all are_. As if, he didn't quite belong there right now.

"Thanks," she said quietly. "And I…I can't talk to Mira right now. So, thanks for being here with me."

Her eyes were fixated at the strand of cotton she was tugging at from a cushion, and Gray's slender, pale fingers crossed over her hands and she looked up. "Wouldn't you prefer Mira to be here?"

Lucy let out a small smile. A sad one. "No," she said. "That would be a huge irony."

"Irony as in…?"

"As in," Her brown eyes flashed to his confused blue ones. "Mirajane's the one Natsu's been in love with all along. And as much as I love her, I don't think I can stay with her right now. She can't give me the comfort or friendship I need right now."

His grip on her hand tightened, and Gray let out a hiss, his eyes fierce. "That bastard," he exhaled. Then he took a deep breath and looked at Lucy. "I can't believe he did this to you."

Looping her hands around her knees, Lucy brought them up to her chest. Her left hand remained in Gray's. "I guess it just happens anyway, you know."

"What does?"

"Love."

Gray looked for a moment as if to ask her why she was defending him, but then he averted his eyes and looked at the dimly lit wooden floor. "Yeah. I guess it does."

They were silent for a moment, Gray's fingers rubbing soothing circles on the back of Lucy's palm. His hand was warm despite the cold outside; and even though Lucy had caught herself in an embrace with Gray, her fingers were still freezing.

She reached out hesitantly and unfolded her friend's hand, wrapping it over both of hers. Her hands were tiny compared to his long ones.

"There," she sighed. "That's much warmer."

The raven-haired man leaned back a little. "You were right when you said it isn't you okay, you know Lucy," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," His lips lifted in the imperfect, teasing smile that lit up Gray's normally nonchalant face. "You do look like quite a mess. Mascara all over the face and all that. That's not okay right?"

At that, Lucy's amused astonishment made her laugh a little. And then a bit more. And then a little bit more. Soon she was laughing like she usually did, which was what made Lucy the bubbly, charming girl she was.

As she laughed, Gray's unoccupied hand came up to brush away the tears from her face and caught the traitor tears at her lashes. "There," he said. "That's the messed up Lucy everyone knows."

The blonde's laughter subsided and she looked up at Gray, a faint trace of her mirth in her soft smile. He had made her laugh when she felt like she wouldn't smile for ages. Why is it only he could do that all the time?

Her mind went back to the rainy day she'd fallen sick. Her friends had promised to come over in the evening from work to cheer her up, but she had thought the whole of the rainy grey morning she would be alone. She had tried calling Natsu, but he never picked up.

So when a wet Gray barged right into her house, she was more than shocked. She remembered him rolling his eyes at her when she protested he didn't need to fuss over her. And then he spent the rest of the afternoon sitting next to her on her bed, booted feet up carelessly, just talking and keeping her company. Nothing much, but everything to her that day.

Another memory tugged at Lucy—a fairly recent one; Gray's briefly furious look directed at Natsu when he snapped and said a few harsh words to Lucy. It had been at the club, when all of them had been out after a long, long time, and Lucy had been asking Natsu to have some fun, kept asking him why he was so distant. She was reminded of how Gray had made as if to give him a piece of his mind, when Erza came along and settled matters—it had ended in Natsu with a black eye, and Lucy had laughingly dismissed the incident from her mind.

"Thanks," she said again.

Gray, who was playing absentmindedly with her fingers, snapped out of a reverie of his own. "I get it I'm irresistibly charming and all," he said, smirking. "But why am I being thanked now?"

"For making me laugh. And for sticking around."

In the dimness, Gray's brilliant white teeth flashed as he smiled. "I could stick around a bit more if you want."

"Because you're that friend who sticks around?" Lucy asked casually, knowing that he would understand the thinly veiled undercurrent to her words.

Sure enough, his smile faded and his dark eyes pulled together in a frown. "Tell me," she said, then corrected herself; "Explain to me. How is it that you're always there, Gray? How is it that every time I don't know what I need myself, you do?"

He was silent for a moment, looking down at his jeans. Then: "I think you figured that out all by yourself, Luce."

Feeling strange inside, she looked down as well. Her hands were still trapped in one of his. In fact, her fingers were far too warm now, but she didn't want to be rude and pull away. "Not just a friend, heh."

"Maybe not."

"Maybe it's okay."

His eyes flashed up to hers and held her gaze in shock. Lucy felt the pit of her stomach heat up…

_Maybe I never felt that way about you_, Natsu had said to her.

And perhaps, Lucy thought with sudden calm. Perhaps she had never felt that way about him either. Perhaps she had never realized how she really felt at all.

"Lucy…" Gray breathed. Then he took a deep breath. "…are you feeling alright now?"

Surprised at the turn in conversation, and knowing she wouldn't be alright once he left, she lied, "Yes."

He sighed as he ran his fingers over hers before pulling away and sitting up properly on the couch, facing away. "I should probably go then." He looked at her, and Lucy caught her breath at the many emotions clouding his face—worry, love, exasperation. "Unless…you want me to stay a bit longer?"

_I want you to, but you know I can't ask you to. Not tonight. _"No," Lucy said, her voice a bit hoarse until she cleared it and spoke again, "No, I'll be okay. You should get back before it starts to snow again."

"It already is," Gray glanced at the window, and then swiftly got to his feet. Lucy scrambled up too, already despairing that he was leaving, but it was her own fault for bringing up uncomfortable topics and making him leave.

She shed the jacket and handed it to him, feeling cold again as she walked him to the door.

As the door opened, Gray turned back and with a sudden determination said, "If it was okay," He searched her face for the recognition of their earlier conversation. "If it really was…and I know this isn't the time to discuss it…but would there ever be any chance?"

Lucy didn't know, in all honestly. She felt surprised at how she never realized it was Gray who had been there all along, not Natsu, and confused at the way she felt, and the crushing weight on her chest was back. "Yes," she said slowly. "Because you don't fall in love with the friend that sticks around, do you?"

A hint of a smile lit up Gray's face. "No," he whispered. "You don't. Unless it's a messed up person."

"Guess we're all messed up somehow or the other," Lucy said, but as she looked at him, she knew it was hope of a new beginning.

Unexpectedly, Gray leaned in to tentatively brush his lips against her cheek. Just a light butterfly kiss, a feathery touch, moving to the corner of her lips as her heart sped up, and then he leaned away.

"Bye, Luce." He smiled as he walked down her steps into the cold, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Bye."

Shutting the door, Lucy leaned against it. She closed her eyes—she still had a million problems. And yet, as she glanced at her warmed hands, they didn't seem to matter anymore. It wasn't a lot, but it was a start.

A start of something which would burn brighter. The little brush of lips promised that.

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><p><strong>Sorry for any unintentional mistakes, I didn't have time to proofread. I'll post the next one by next week, almost done with it. Next up, Nalu. <strong>


	2. Chapter 2- As Dawn Broke

**I'm back with a Nalu ;) ****Massive thank you to OtakuLover43, Deaththesyd, and fairytailcelestialmage for reviewing and following.**

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><p><span><strong>As Dawn Broke<strong>

Lucy Heartfilia fell into her warm bed and slid peacefully under the covers. Her day had been rather boring —Natsu was out of town on a mission, and she had not been in need of turning up at the guild that day—and she preferred going to sleep early than to dwell in boredom longer.

It wasn't as if she had not had things to do. She had pages of her story left to write, clothes to finally transport from her overcrowded hamper to the wash, stock up more chocolates in the fridge, polish her keys, turn down Loke when he appeared without summoning.

She _had_ had done all of those things. But she hadn't seen Natsu—idiotic, adorable, loyal Natsu who she loved more than she felt he did—for two days. That didn't mean she didn't have any life apart from him, but in the drowsy spring weather with barely any work and hardly any excitement in Magnolia and no good missions, she couldn't help but find herself jobless after a while.

Magnolia's lights glittered back to her in the distance as she closed her windows and clumsily drew the curtains from her bed. After making her way through two chapters of the last book she had been reading, she finally set it apart with a yawn and settled down under the covers snugly.

It was a few minutes before her eyes fell shut and Lucy was asleep, her blonde hair haloing her face messily.

Magnolia was generally peaceful—at least until Natsu and Gray were out on the streets without supervision of Erza—and there was only a dull silence as the night crept in.

_Natsu was grinning at Lucy, his Exceed Happy flying around his head. "Come join us, Luce!" he called._

_Lucy stared at him. Her vision blurred a little looking at Natsu directly, but she made out the dark objects he was sitting on. In fact, those objects seemed to be faintly lit up._

_Were those burning coals?_

"_Natsu!" Lucy called back. "You're insane!"_

"_No, Lucy," Happy said. "Join us, already!"_

_In a flash Lucy was sitting next to Natsu, him smiling like a wacko down at her. He seemed to be enjoying their day immensely._

_Lucy leaned back a little and fell onto the coals. They grew hotter and hotter underneath her back and she cried out. Natsu looked horrified._

"_Lucy!" he yelled. "Lucy…hang on!"_

_The coals burned brighter. "Lucy," Natsu said again._

..."Lucy…Lucy? Hey, Luce…"

The blonde Celestial Mage's eyes flew wide open and she gasped as she sat up. She looked to her left; in the faintly moonlight patch of her bed, Natsu Dragneel lay. His dark red hair shone in the silver light, and he looked up with concern at her; the metallic bright caught his eyes. As her expression turned to incredulity, he grinned up wolfishly at her.

"'Night," he said, by way of greeting.

Lucy blinked down at him. "I had the stupidest dream ever," she said finally. "Because your magic _burned me again, Natsu_!" Okay, that wasn't a great summarization of how much she had missed him, but the words came out in a torrent.

Natsu sat up quickly beside her, looking down at his hands. "Oh," he looked sheepish. "Sorry Lucy." When he looked up at her, his large onyx eyes were filled with innocent apologies and worry. She softened under his gaze, knowing that when he was too excited at times, his magic tended to go out of control.

"How is it," she mused at last, fiddling with her bedcovers. "You manage to sneak into my bed right after your mission finished?" He would have had to; she knew he acted on impulse, but even then. Then she looked wary. "You did finish it, Natsu, right?"

He rolled his eyes good-naturedly at her. "Yeah I did," he said defensively. Then he looked amused. "And for the record, it was hard sneaking in tonight. You left the window locked, you know."

The fact that Natsu, kind, reckless, thoughtless, loving Natsu, had just spent the last few minutes of her sleep trying to come in through the window cracked up Lucy. She knew he wasn't as childish as he tended to behave sometimes—it was in his nature. It was only with her that he exposed his real emotions, only with her that he joked like he normally did but looked at her with all the unspoken words of their conversations, only with her that he became the boy she loved.

She leaned him to kiss him lightly on the lips. "Lord Dragneel," she whispered teasingly. "Thou hast proved thyself. I deem thy worthy of the prize of my love."

Natsu leaned into the dark, his calloused but gentle hands reaching up to her shoulders. His lips brushed meaningfully against hers as he whispered back, "You're so hot when you speak like that, Luce."

"Shut up," she muttered laughingly. "Kiss me instead."

"Mm…" His words were left hanging as he slid easily under the covers beside Lucy, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to him. His fingers played with her hair, twirling the dark golden locks around as he kissed her the way she liked it—fierce, passionate, yet soft and sweet. All that Natsu's personality was like through his lips. "I missed you," he said softly.

"I guess I did too," was the murmured response.

Lucy's hands locked around his neck as she tilted her face up, breathing in his sweet scent. He smelled like burnt candles and cinnamon. Her breath hitched in the slightest when his unoccupied hand trailed warm touches along her spine until they touched her bra strap. He fingered it as Lucy grinned and shook her head in exasperation. Her left hand felt all the muscles in his back as she leaned closer, arching.

"Maybe," she murmured against him, as her lips moved to his neck slowly down his jaw-line. "You should sneak in after every mission."

Her fingernails scraped lightly against his collarbone as she ran her hands over his smooth, scarred skin. His fingers still played with her bra clasp, but suddenly, he let go. His moved into bring her mouth back to his in a swift movement, and then moved away from her.

"…Natsu?" Lucy blinked in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Breathing a little faster than usual, Natsu readjusted his shirt, jumping down from the bed. "As much as I would love to spend the rest of the night with you here," he smiled. "I did come here for a reason."

Lucy actually felt relieved and she felt the hurt from her face leave, knowing it wasn't as if Natsu didn't _want _to have sex with her the second time around. That was reassuring.

"Okay." She stretched like a cat and threw off the hot covers. "What is it? And if you're here to break up with me, I'm gonna summon Aquarius and make her drown you in the bathtub."

Natsu grinned. "I think I'll pass this time," he replied, winking. Then he turned serious. "Okay, so do you want to go for a midnight drive?"

The blonde stared at him. "I'm sorry…what?"

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><p>Lucy looked at Natsu as they drove down the streets of Magnolia. The dark red car that Natsu had shown her proudly sure as hell didn't belong to him, but he seemed to know how to handle it well enough.<p>

"So." Lucy hadn't questioned another one of Natsu's sudden ideas much, but she felt curious now. "Where did you steal this from, Natsu?"

His lips quivered a little. "I borrowed it," he said emphatically.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "From…?"

"Well, I _may_ have taken Elfman's new car when he was out…"

Lucy laughed out loud, shaking her head in amusement. Her hair flew back behind her as they went down the streets in the mildly chilly air, and she wrapped her arms around herself as the lights and houses whipped past them.

She didn't question another one of Natsu's whims this night; in fact, she rather liked that side to him. She liked how he would suddenly brighten her whole day out of nowhere, saying nothing and doing nothing but just being there and being who he was. She liked it when he randomly asked her to do something with him—whether it was to dive into a magical lake they were supposed to avoid, or whether it was to climb to the high roof of Kardia Cathedral and look down at Magnolia—because she almost always ended up enjoying it amidst the craziness.

"What time is it?" She asked suddenly.

Natsu shrugged; he didn't have a watch, mostly because he ended up burning them during a fight. "I guess around after three in the morning."

"Three in the morning," Lucy marveled. "I don't know how I let you wake me up at this hour without casting you in the dark demon realms."

One hand on the steering wheel and one reaching out to touch her hands, the redhead smirked at her. "That's 'cause you're totally in love with me."

"Not for long if you keep doing this," She grumbled, but smiled, leaning back and staring up at the open sunroof of Elfman's car. As she stretched out against the seat, she felt something coil around her foot. She was in nothing but her pajama pants, tank top and a light cotton jacket, but her feet despite the sandals were bare to what felt like fabric around them.

Natsu glanced at her. "What's wrong?"

Flushed, Lucy kicked back the piece of cloth against the back of her seat. "Elfman's underwear," she muttered distastefully.

"Ew…" Natsu laughed, and then stopped at the glare on the blonde's face. "Okay, sorry. Next time, I'm taking you in a limo. Promise."

"I'd love to see you try and get one," Lucy winked at him, and then moved closer, snuggling up to the side of his body. He felt warm, as usual, a trait of his fire magic. One of his arms came around her shoulders; he didn't have to be careful about driving, there was hardly anyone on the road.

They kept going, winding through narrow streets and past buildings until Lucy observed, "We're going out of Magnolia, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Natsu replied. "But not too far. You'll see." He pointed to the left; "Check it out."

They were on the narrow bridge leading away from Magnolia now, and Lucy turned to catch sight of the glittering town rushing away behind them as they drove on. The bridge was dark, contrasting to the brilliance of the town—she caught her breath and kept looking until they crossed it and were down on a stony path again. The wind whipped past her face.

"Still sleepy?" Natsu gave the girl beside him a knowing grin.

Lucy just shook her head, smiling and leaned her head against his shoulder. She felt peaceful there, safe somehow. She reached out and grabbed Natsu's unoccupied hand, playing with his fingers. "You know, I'm pretty sure driving with both hands on the steering wheel is one of the driving laws."

Natsu let out a chuckle. "What can I say," he teased. "I like law-breaking."

"How about getting arrested?"

"I like attention too," he said seriously, and Lucy burst into laughter.

As they drove out of Magnolia, the bright town was left behind and they were engulfed in darkness. Lucy had been idly playing with Natsu's fingers and staring off into the distance and the next thing she knew, he was whispering her name and running a hand over her cheek.

"Luce," Natsu said again. The blonde's eyes opened and she sat up hastily, almost cracking her neck. She leaned back to see Natsu grinning at her. "You fell asleep."

"And you woke me up. Again." Lucy cocked an eyebrow. "Why are you grinning at me like that?"

"Well…you look really cute when you're asleep…" he trailed off.

Muttering unintelligibly about how she was always cute, Lucy looked out of the window for the first time. Her eyes widened;

A short stretch of sand lay from where they were, and the sea expanding out was dark. Did Natsu seriously just drive all the way to the beach? It wasn't that far a distance from Magnolia, but in the middle of the night…

"It's going to be dawn soon." Natsu jumped off the seat to pass through the sunroof, and propping his elbows on the roof the car, he hoisted up and sprang down onto the sand. Lucy rolled her eyes and pulled herself out of the car through the door.

Natsu had parked Elfman's car rather awkwardly in the middle of the sand, and that was why Lucy felt as if they were too close to the water. She kicked off her sandals, bare feet soundless on the cool sand as she walked away from the car, her eyes caught on the water. She had never been to the beach at dark—she moved closer to the water.

Clumsily and loudly, Natsu sat down beside her. "Wait a bit."

"For what?" She kneeled down onto the sand beside him, watching the faint glow of the water catch Natsu's dark eyes.

"Lucy, just look."

She tore her eyes away from him and looked. The glow was getting brighter—a faint reddish-orange glow touched the tips of the water. The auburn faded into a soft, distant ochre as Lucy stared, enthralled, and she could just see the edge of the rising sun.

She felt Natsu's hand over hers as she leaned back and looked, like he told her to. "Beautiful, isn't it?" He said softly. Lucy didn't respond, but her eyes said it all.

The water glittered as the sun rose—the sky turned rosy, the traces of darkness melting away into the splendid colours. The thin webs of golden that spread over the water soon sunk into a brilliant incandescence.

They had reached just as dawn broke.

Lucy turned her head, her fingers interlocking with Natsu's, and kissed him. Her knees ground into the sand as she straightened, her lips pressed affectionately against his; a sudden joy made her smile against his lips. She loved him so much.

"Thank you," she breathed, her excited brown eyes locking his. Natsu laughed. "The drive was worth it right?"

"Everything's always worth it when it comes to you," Lucy said fondly, and then she sighed in a calm, content happiness and leaned her head back against his chest, lying against him as she turned her attention back to the sea.

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><p><strong>Review, please? :) <strong>

**Next up- Graylu (Please, please do give me prompts in the reviews for new one-shots if you want to keep them coming. Your ideas could be fab!)**


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